Alum endows USC Marshall global real estate program

International executive supports new program for young leaders

A substantial gift from international real estate executive William J. McMorrow will establish and endow a new program in global real estate at the USC Marshall School of Business.

The William J. McMorrow Global Real Estate program will prepare students for leadership in an interconnected marketplace.

McMorrow is chairman and CEO of the real estate investment and services firm Kennedy Wilson. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, Calif., the company has 24 offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain and Japan with 400 corporate employees and 2,000 operating employees.

McMorrow purchased the firm in 1988 as a real estate auction company and has expanded it into a publicly traded company with more than $17 billion in assets under management worldwide, including 68 million square feet of office, retail and industrial properties and 18,000 multifamily units. Since 2010, Kennedy Wilson has been one of the most active global investors in real estate with approximately $12 billion of purchases.

“We are profoundly grateful that someone with William McMorrow’s stature and expertise in real estate has chosen to put his name on this endeavor,” said Al Checcio, USC senior vice president for University Advancement. “We are thrilled to call Bill a partner and a friend, and we know his involvement augurs a world-class program.”

McMorrow received his Bachelor of Science in business and MBA from USC Marshall. He serves on the executive board of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, which advances real estate knowledge and addresses timely issues that affect the industry.

William McMorrow (Photo/George Simian)

“The William J. McMorrow Global Real Estate program will be a vital forum for thought leadership that attracts prominent faculty and trains the next generation of visionaries in the field,” said USC Marshall Dean James G. Ellis. “The gift is a natural fit for a university so rooted in Southern California, which has always been a hub of real estate innovation.”

Los Angeles remains a beacon for residents and investors seeking new opportunities.

“This program is ideally positioned to influence the real estate industry here at home and around the world,” Ellis said.

The gift is part of the Campaign for the University of Southern California, a multiyear effort to secure $6 billion or more in private support from individual donors, foundations and corporations. As of November, the campaign had raised $3 billion, more than half its goal.